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The ECB will continue with its program of quantitative easing , scaling back to 60 billion euros a month, the FT reports. "The bank confirmed that it would buy €80bn a month of bonds until March but added it would prolong its asset purchases until the end of 2017 at a lower rate of €60bn," the paper said. "The decision sparked sharp swings on financial markets. The euro initially strengthened and......MORE

It prompted questions about "the return of the premium card" and gave Amex an awful fright, but now it seems that JPMorgan's Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card will have serious acquisition costs for the bank due to the lavish rewards offered. Quartz reports that Jamie Dimon told investors the cost of the new card could cause a $200 million drop in......MORE

Bad loans at Turkish banks are putting a strain on relations between the banks and the state, as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks lower interest rates and lower borrowing costs. But that's not what banks want to hear. They're having problems of their own, as illustrated in the graph below from Bloomberg. It writes: "Troubled loans have risen to the......MORE

There's no easy answer for what to do with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena : the world's oldest bank is careening down a cliff face as its share continues a downward trajectory that has been in motion since last year. The bank's problems have been well documented, but "Italian politicians and regulators have fiercely resisted bail-in, fearing it would frighten off investors, spook depositors and enrage......MORE

Lafferty News has been writing about brinksmanship and Italian banking since late last year — see here — as the country struggled to established some kind of bad bank to take non-performing loans off the books of its struggling banks. One year on, and the situation is even worse, but now the banking crisis has taken out the young prime minister Matteo Renzi, who......MORE

Lafferty News has been travelling in the Nordics this week, and can reveal to our readers a hidden secret of reporting: taxi drivers have a disproportional influence on the news, as they are a great source of local news and gossip. That's especially true when it comes to payments news, as taxi drivers are excellently acquainted with the relative merits of mobile payments, apps, cash versus cards, Uber versus local and so on. Indeed, one hard-pressed taxi driver in Copenhagen was happy to......MORE

Lafferty News has been observing with interest the skirmishes as Basel IV proposals are finalised. On the one side, regulators, led by Stefan Ingves, argue that "some parts of Europe have persistently not wanted....to fix their severe problems"; on the other, Frédéric Oudéa, head of the European Banking Federation, has made the case against heavier regulation, arguing stoutly that banks in the continent are innocent of ignoring, let alone disguising......MORE

Like Banquo at the feast, the consequences of past mistakes and misdeeds at RBS keep returning: the firm, which has vied to overcome both risky assets and steep fines for misconduct, has failed the latest stress test set by the Bank of England. As a result, capital buffers must be increased at the state-controlled lender. A total of seven firms in the UK were submitted to these tests: Standard Chartered and Barclays both struggled to......MORE

The Financial Times headline catches the mood amongst authorities in Italy and Europe more widely: "Fears mount of multiple bank failures if Renzi loses referendum". As the Sunday vote approaches, the anti-Establishment wave on both sides of the Atlantic threatens to upend much-needed constitutional reforms in Italy. In its coverage, London's Daily Telegraph suggests that €40bn may be needed......MORE

The world's second most populous nation has been profoundly shaken by demonetisation — and no wonder, as a full 86 percent of Indian cash in circulation is in the process of being pulled out and replaced. With no warning at all before the announcement 20 days ago, daily life is suddenly more difficult for the vast majority. The Economist reports the on-the-ground effects for different classes, while also noting that "GDP growth might be as much as two percentage points......MORE

The FT this morning features an interview with Anders Bouvin, CEO of Handelsbanken, who was appointed earlier this year. Mr Bouvin is the former head of Handelsbanken in the UK. The paper writes: "One investor jokes that the new chief executive is like 'a missionary', imbued with more passion for the Handelsbanken gospel by having had to find new converts in a far-off land rather than preaching to the converted in......MORE

To its horror, Apple found its MacBook Pro so solid that people were failing to run out and buy a new one every two years. Hence the first significant upgrade since mid-2012 came last month, with a new 'Touch ID Bar' replacing the traditional array of function keys. Apple Pay on mobile hasn't been the success the company hoped for , so now the firm is returning to first principles, incorporating discoveries that the way we pay for something affects our brains. How much? More than......MORE